With the state wrestling and swimming championships now over, the only UHSAA-sanctioned sports remaining are boys and girls basketball.

After next week, it’ll just be the boys basketball teams.

After that, the clang of metal bats to baseballs and softballs will accompany the thumping of tennis rackets, the steady pace of running spikes to the rubber track, and the swoosh of golf clubs as high school girl golfers navigate their way through 18 hole courses.

In that moment, when all of those sports and more start their respective seasons, the unofficial beginning of spring will be announced.

While the spring sports season will technically begin in the latter stages of winter, it couldn’t have come at a better time.

The weather is starting to get a little warmer, the snow on the ground is slowly melting away, and even supposed snow storms are producing nothing more than much-needed rain Рall of which is a signifier that warmer weather should be just around the corner.

I have, however, enjoyed this winter sports season more than in previous iterations for many reasons.

First and foremost, getting back in the habit of going to more games, matches and so on has renewed my interest in most winter sports. I’ve managed to find a way to cover about as many teams and events as possible (with apologies to hockey, which is currently in playoff mode as well), which has led to more stories on our website and more interest and readership.

These are all good things, of course, and having the readership numbers go continuously upward has given me more and more motivation to go to more games and events.

Given all the sports that are coming down the pipeline in the next couple of weeks, I’m certainly going to have my hands full.

Spring sports at the high school level is tough to cover, but it’s a love affair nonetheless. As many as six UHSAA-sanctioned sports will be happening once the calendar flips to March, and rugby and lacrosse are two more sports that are starting to get the attention of Davis County residents.

However, with both basketball brackets still waiting to be filled out, there’s plenty of intrigue remaining in the coming weeks as well.

The most interesting matchups can happen in the playoffs, and you never know what might happen to a team once they step onto the court in a win-or-go-home scenario.

Over the past few years I’ve seen teams with no business being in the playoffs make it to the semi-finals or beyond, region rivals play for the right to get to the championship game, and undefeated teams fall shy of even making it to the finals.

It’s all part of the excitement of high school playoff basketball.

College fans will be really excited once the high schools are done playing, as March Madness looms for those not interested in any spring-time sports.

I’ll be watching some of that as well, though without as much intrigue as the high school level.